Fri: 6.15 miles, 45:11 + Core work
Sat: 8 miles, 55:31 + Gym work
Sun: 16.1 miles, 109:23, avg HR = 156
Mon: 5 miles, 37:51
Tue: 8 miles, 53:34 + Core, avg HR = 148
Wed: 5.1 miles, 36:31 + Gym
Overdue on the blogging, but it's safe to say that I'm taking my recovery runs to a whole new level of slowness. Friday and Monday's run take some beating. However, I'm enjoying the more leisurely runs, and they're badly needed. By week's end on Sunday (57.25 miles on 6 runs) the legs were on the sorer side. Felt beat up, and starting to feel the onset of some shin splints in both legs. Thankfully this week is a down week (no workouts, reduced mileage) which should allow them to recover sufficiently. Tuesday's run was a positive, shins were better (though not 100%) following the physio the previous evening and running with Ed made time fly effortlessly, with the HR as good as its been all year.
Been watching the Europeans since Tuesday. The highlight for me thus far has to Chris Thompson in the 10k. I ran against him in high school (as in I was in the same race as him) a couple of times and he was a class act. A better junior coming through than Farah, he's had shit luck (which I can relate to) so it was great to see him persevere and get some hardware on a big stage. Also a big highlight was the 1st round of the men's 800 with Ireland's David McCarthy. Watch the video below and wait for the race to get to 250 to go. There's two things I hate in this world; those who are ignorant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tempo fun
2.5 mile w/u
8 mile tempo
2.5 mile c/d
Waited till last night before settling on this workout as attempted the same thing last year and sandbagged half way through as the legs hadn't recovered from the Saturday race fully. Wasn't anticipating the same thing happening but would have been annoyed if I hadn't learned the lesson from last year. Those fears were baseless as the run went extremely well. Did the loop in 45:49, with the HR in much better shape than the last tempo a couple of weeks back (avg HR = 179, peak = 186). Didn't get too many splits along the way but ran a consistent pace, always felt strong and in control, and despite a little bit of heaviness in the legs felt like I had another gear or two in reserve. Pretty much how a tempo should feel really. Very pleased with the last couple of week's running; fingers crossed I can keep it going.
8 mile tempo
2.5 mile c/d
Waited till last night before settling on this workout as attempted the same thing last year and sandbagged half way through as the legs hadn't recovered from the Saturday race fully. Wasn't anticipating the same thing happening but would have been annoyed if I hadn't learned the lesson from last year. Those fears were baseless as the run went extremely well. Did the loop in 45:49, with the HR in much better shape than the last tempo a couple of weeks back (avg HR = 179, peak = 186). Didn't get too many splits along the way but ran a consistent pace, always felt strong and in control, and despite a little bit of heaviness in the legs felt like I had another gear or two in reserve. Pretty much how a tempo should feel really. Very pleased with the last couple of week's running; fingers crossed I can keep it going.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Post-race slogs
Sun: 10.2 miles, 74:31
Mon: 6 miles, 43:52
Tue AM: 8 miles + Gym; PM: Incremental test on the bike, ~30mins
Wed: off
Sunday was a very gentle effort, not necessarily because the legs were gassed, they weren't; but it was 10am and I hadn't gotten till bed till 4. Despite the lateness of the previous night, I had been pretty good/tame by college standards, but getting up to run at 10 sucked just as bad as I remembered it used to. Still once out, things started to improve, and enjoyed the craic with Enda while we ran. Hit up the war memorial gardens (which were lovely) and a previously unknown bike path on the banks of the Liffey out by Chapelizod to keep the run flat and scenic.
Monday was another recovery run. Could feel the race in the legs still so was happy to just donder along. Was a little surprised at quite how leisurely the pace was but not too bothered, it was a hectic day and was glad for the relaxation time.
Tuesday I had a 10 on tap, but hadn't the time to do the gym on Monday and knew I was on the bike in the afternoon as the guinea pig for a lab demonstration for some medical students. The run was fine but the bike was the last thing I wanted, the legs still haven't fully gotten Saturday out of them, and with a tempo on Thursday I didn't want to be choking them up with lactic acid. Went to about 80-90% of max (VO2 was 60ml/kg/min and HR was ~185) and bagged it. The students had seen enough and the legs were knackered. Might do a proper VO2 max test somewhere down the line, but on the treadmill, not the bike.
New routine for Wednesday: 20 mins in the steam room at the pool. Physio recommended it and tried it for the first time last week. Had a positive impact last week so will likely keep it going
Mon: 6 miles, 43:52
Tue AM: 8 miles + Gym; PM: Incremental test on the bike, ~30mins
Wed: off
Sunday was a very gentle effort, not necessarily because the legs were gassed, they weren't; but it was 10am and I hadn't gotten till bed till 4. Despite the lateness of the previous night, I had been pretty good/tame by college standards, but getting up to run at 10 sucked just as bad as I remembered it used to. Still once out, things started to improve, and enjoyed the craic with Enda while we ran. Hit up the war memorial gardens (which were lovely) and a previously unknown bike path on the banks of the Liffey out by Chapelizod to keep the run flat and scenic.
Monday was another recovery run. Could feel the race in the legs still so was happy to just donder along. Was a little surprised at quite how leisurely the pace was but not too bothered, it was a hectic day and was glad for the relaxation time.
Tuesday I had a 10 on tap, but hadn't the time to do the gym on Monday and knew I was on the bike in the afternoon as the guinea pig for a lab demonstration for some medical students. The run was fine but the bike was the last thing I wanted, the legs still haven't fully gotten Saturday out of them, and with a tempo on Thursday I didn't want to be choking them up with lactic acid. Went to about 80-90% of max (VO2 was 60ml/kg/min and HR was ~185) and bagged it. The students had seen enough and the legs were knackered. Might do a proper VO2 max test somewhere down the line, but on the treadmill, not the bike.
New routine for Wednesday: 20 mins in the steam room at the pool. Physio recommended it and tried it for the first time last week. Had a positive impact last week so will likely keep it going
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Umm what just happened?
Thu: 8 miles w/ 3 x ~200-250m strides mixed in, 53:31; some light core
Fri: 6 miles, 42:50
Sat: 3 mile w/u, 20:48; 5 mile race, 26:06; 5 mile c/d, 39:02; 1.5 mile jog to bus ~15 mins.
Difficult to explain this race, came in having done pretty much the same training/times in tempo's as I did prior to the same race last year (27:28). About the only differences this time around were that a) I wore flats this year, and b) it was less humid. Aside from that I have no idea how I just ran that time. Definitely think the mile markers were off (not a chance I ran 4:37 to open, even if it was downhill). In terms of how the race felt, I got out steady, in and around 25th place or so. Following the downhill stretch I was a little isolated, but once we turned up the hill around 1.5 miles and into the wind I started to pull in some of the guys in front of me. Pushed up the hill and hit the 2nd mile in ~5:27. 3rd mile was all uphill and into the wind so just tucked in and felt I recovered somewhat (5:43 - think this was a bit long but not by much). Pushed on the 4th mile as the group Enda was in was about 10secs in front of me. Passed through the 4th mile in 4:57 (again, don't think this is right) and closed pretty strong, although the watch said 5:20 for the last one. Felt pretty strong the whole way round, didn't really have a bad patch, although tucking in the 3rd mile allowed me to regather and finish strong. Very pleased and very very surprised with the time, although it seems everyone had a big improvement on last year (top 5 all under 24 vs. winning time of 24:14 last year), so maybe the conditions were a lot more favourable.
Got in a nice easy cooldown despite the onset of a downpour midway through. Happy with the day's work I was getting the shuttle bus back to town afterwards, but after moving a grand total of 25 yards in 20 mins decided to run out of the park despite the rain for the extra 1.5 miles at the end.
After that run and the birthday during the week, I think I deserve a couple of pints tonight. Happy days!
Fri: 6 miles, 42:50
Sat: 3 mile w/u, 20:48; 5 mile race, 26:06; 5 mile c/d, 39:02; 1.5 mile jog to bus ~15 mins.
Difficult to explain this race, came in having done pretty much the same training/times in tempo's as I did prior to the same race last year (27:28). About the only differences this time around were that a) I wore flats this year, and b) it was less humid. Aside from that I have no idea how I just ran that time. Definitely think the mile markers were off (not a chance I ran 4:37 to open, even if it was downhill). In terms of how the race felt, I got out steady, in and around 25th place or so. Following the downhill stretch I was a little isolated, but once we turned up the hill around 1.5 miles and into the wind I started to pull in some of the guys in front of me. Pushed up the hill and hit the 2nd mile in ~5:27. 3rd mile was all uphill and into the wind so just tucked in and felt I recovered somewhat (5:43 - think this was a bit long but not by much). Pushed on the 4th mile as the group Enda was in was about 10secs in front of me. Passed through the 4th mile in 4:57 (again, don't think this is right) and closed pretty strong, although the watch said 5:20 for the last one. Felt pretty strong the whole way round, didn't really have a bad patch, although tucking in the 3rd mile allowed me to regather and finish strong. Very pleased and very very surprised with the time, although it seems everyone had a big improvement on last year (top 5 all under 24 vs. winning time of 24:14 last year), so maybe the conditions were a lot more favourable.
Got in a nice easy cooldown despite the onset of a downpour midway through. Happy with the day's work I was getting the shuttle bus back to town afterwards, but after moving a grand total of 25 yards in 20 mins decided to run out of the park despite the rain for the extra 1.5 miles at the end.
After that run and the birthday during the week, I think I deserve a couple of pints tonight. Happy days!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
It's my party and I'll cry if I want to
Fri: 5.1 miles, 37:04 + core work
Sat: 8 miles, 56:16
Sun: 15.8 miles, 108:29
Weeks total, 7 runs, 63.3 miles
Mon: 6 miles, 43:15
Tue: 10 miles, 66:52 + weights
Last week was a great week's training, although caution is the word of the day as it represents a significant jump on my mileage thus far this year so making sure I look after the legs. But following on from the drunkenness the previous week it was a good rebound.
Wore the HR monitor the last 3 days. Sunday I averaged 159bpm for the long run which was pleasing, although from 9 miles on it didn't really drop below 160 on account of a very strong headwind the rest of the way home.
Monday I went out with the intention of keeping the HR under 150bpm, which ended up being easier to do than expected (average = 145). Today's run the HR was again surprisingly low (avg =153bpm) even though I was moving at a good clip. Despite the bump in mileage the legs feel good and I'm looking forward to the first race of the season (5 miles) this Saturday. That said, the physio found some wicked sore points last night that need further work, but all in all I'm pretty excited with how things are going.
Sat: 8 miles, 56:16
Sun: 15.8 miles, 108:29
Weeks total, 7 runs, 63.3 miles
Mon: 6 miles, 43:15
Tue: 10 miles, 66:52 + weights
Last week was a great week's training, although caution is the word of the day as it represents a significant jump on my mileage thus far this year so making sure I look after the legs. But following on from the drunkenness the previous week it was a good rebound.
Wore the HR monitor the last 3 days. Sunday I averaged 159bpm for the long run which was pleasing, although from 9 miles on it didn't really drop below 160 on account of a very strong headwind the rest of the way home.
Monday I went out with the intention of keeping the HR under 150bpm, which ended up being easier to do than expected (average = 145). Today's run the HR was again surprisingly low (avg =153bpm) even though I was moving at a good clip. Despite the bump in mileage the legs feel good and I'm looking forward to the first race of the season (5 miles) this Saturday. That said, the physio found some wicked sore points last night that need further work, but all in all I'm pretty excited with how things are going.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The nolongerdrunksobacktoreality post
Mon: 8 miles, 55:04
Tue: 10 miles, 65:38
Wed: 5 miles, 36:30 + Gym
Thu: 11.3 miles total (72:53); 6.15 mile tempo in 35.28
Spent the first couple of days of this week getting over the weekends festivities. Came back to Dublin on Tuesday after dropping the newlyweds at the airport. Was only out on the run about 5 mins when I ran into Mary Cullen who's working her way back after injury, although you wouldn't know it given the pace she was running. Ran with Mary for about 3 miles before continuing on at a similar pace, although faster than normal. The Monday & Tuesday runs were slightly longer than was scheduled, and just did a few junk miles on Wed to make up for the weekend off instead of the usual day off.
Had the physio work me over Wed night and apparently my IT bands are like bricks and need some serious work over the next couple of weeks to prevent anything developing. Fun.
Last night hit the Phoenix Park for my tempo. The previous time out I'd run 35:45 but had run harder than I should have for a tempo. Brought the HR monitor along this time to keep the effort more under control. Passed through the mile in 5:45 before hitting the uphill 2 miles, which were run in 11:48, before the last 3 and change in 17:56. Was happy with the run as I was in much more control of myself than last time out although the equivalent tempo last year was run slightly faster (35:15) which I was hoping to match.
The HR is causing me some concern due to the effect the meds for the CML are having. One of the side effects of the meds is a slowing of the QT interval of the heartbeat. The result is that my resting BP has dropped from 120/75 to 120/65. I'm not sure what's happening to the BP during the run, but the drop in the diastolic BP means less tension in the arteries which is resulting in the heart beating more frequently to ensure blood flow through the body. My average HR during the tempo was 189bpm, varying between 184-193, compared to 177-189 last year. What surprised me wasn't how high the HR was as I was expecting that, but how little it varied especially on the downhills/uphills section. Usually the HR profile during the run would match the terrain, but not with this one. It wasn't really coming down on the downhills, and I wasn't seeing the usual spike on the uphill. The pretty shitty graph below shows the HR from start to finish.
One of the cooler aspects of the run was the w/u and c/d. It's fawning season for the deer in the park, and the herds (?) were packed together. Grabbed the iphone for the cooldown and took a few pics which aren't all that clear since I can't zoom on the iphone.
Tue: 10 miles, 65:38
Wed: 5 miles, 36:30 + Gym
Thu: 11.3 miles total (72:53); 6.15 mile tempo in 35.28
Spent the first couple of days of this week getting over the weekends festivities. Came back to Dublin on Tuesday after dropping the newlyweds at the airport. Was only out on the run about 5 mins when I ran into Mary Cullen who's working her way back after injury, although you wouldn't know it given the pace she was running. Ran with Mary for about 3 miles before continuing on at a similar pace, although faster than normal. The Monday & Tuesday runs were slightly longer than was scheduled, and just did a few junk miles on Wed to make up for the weekend off instead of the usual day off.
Had the physio work me over Wed night and apparently my IT bands are like bricks and need some serious work over the next couple of weeks to prevent anything developing. Fun.
Last night hit the Phoenix Park for my tempo. The previous time out I'd run 35:45 but had run harder than I should have for a tempo. Brought the HR monitor along this time to keep the effort more under control. Passed through the mile in 5:45 before hitting the uphill 2 miles, which were run in 11:48, before the last 3 and change in 17:56. Was happy with the run as I was in much more control of myself than last time out although the equivalent tempo last year was run slightly faster (35:15) which I was hoping to match.
The HR is causing me some concern due to the effect the meds for the CML are having. One of the side effects of the meds is a slowing of the QT interval of the heartbeat. The result is that my resting BP has dropped from 120/75 to 120/65. I'm not sure what's happening to the BP during the run, but the drop in the diastolic BP means less tension in the arteries which is resulting in the heart beating more frequently to ensure blood flow through the body. My average HR during the tempo was 189bpm, varying between 184-193, compared to 177-189 last year. What surprised me wasn't how high the HR was as I was expecting that, but how little it varied especially on the downhills/uphills section. Usually the HR profile during the run would match the terrain, but not with this one. It wasn't really coming down on the downhills, and I wasn't seeing the usual spike on the uphill. The pretty shitty graph below shows the HR from start to finish.
One of the cooler aspects of the run was the w/u and c/d. It's fawning season for the deer in the park, and the herds (?) were packed together. Grabbed the iphone for the cooldown and took a few pics which aren't all that clear since I can't zoom on the iphone.
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Great week's drinking
Tues: 4 pints & 2 cans following wedding rehearsal
Wed: Stumbled out of Fitzpatricks at 4:30am
Thu: Pre-wedding night cans at home
Fri: Wedding day drinking concluded at 7:30am
Sat: Back on the hooch around noon, wrapped up the festivities around 2am
Sun: Felt like I was dying a slow horrible death.
Following on from my best weeks training I probably had my worst week this past week. Hardly surprising given the activities listed above. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday were the only days I actually got any running in during the week. Not what I had planned but wasn't much different than I expected unfortunately. It's not everyday your brother gets married.
Wed: Stumbled out of Fitzpatricks at 4:30am
Thu: Pre-wedding night cans at home
Fri: Wedding day drinking concluded at 7:30am
Sat: Back on the hooch around noon, wrapped up the festivities around 2am
Sun: Felt like I was dying a slow horrible death.
Following on from my best weeks training I probably had my worst week this past week. Hardly surprising given the activities listed above. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday were the only days I actually got any running in during the week. Not what I had planned but wasn't much different than I expected unfortunately. It's not everyday your brother gets married.
The happy couple!
Looking a little worse for wear back in the residence bar ~3am
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